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Atlantean
The Atlanteans are a race of aquatic humanoids that live underwater in the Earth's oceans. Originally a dominating race on the planet, many of them were killed when the continent of Atlantis was sunk beneath the sea in a mass extinction event. The survivors adapted to living underwater, hidden away from modern society. They are gifted with magically enhanced technology, aquatic physiology, and knowledge of some of the lost lore of Earth's history. History The oldest Atlanteans believe they were either directly created by the Olympian God Poseidon, or were enchanted by his divine power, to have a close affinity for water. This made them in tune with the World's oceans, and through their magic gifts, expanded from their land to control much of the Earth. Their home was the continent of Atlantis, located in what is now known as the Atlantic Ocean. The Great Flood At the height of their civilization, the Atlanteans were almost wiped out during a great cataclysm that submerged the continent of Atlantis beneath the sea. All of their surface colonies were abandoned, and many different groups of Atlanteans were permanently cut off from one another. The different groups of survivors lost touch with one another, forming their own civilizations and adapting to the varying environments of wherever they settled. Even when contact was established with the varying groups, they remained separated among their own Kingdoms. Some of the groups were unlucky; the Deserters died out, the Trench devolved into savage creatures, and the Lost Kingdom was never heard from again, believed to have died out as well. The group that survived the direct submersion of Atlantis and remained to inhabit the sunken continent became the main branch of aquatic sentients, and continued to refer to themselves as Atlanteans. Rise of the Ocean Master The Atlanteans would be brought into potential conflict with their surface-dwelling cousins, the Humans, as time passed and the Ocean became more and more polluted. Marine Life was always harvested for sustenance, but suffered greatly with an oversaturation of exploitation and hunting. And when technology became advanced enough, Human wars began to tread upon Atlantean territory and threaten to expose the underwater civilization to discovery or destruction. King Orvax, like his predecessors, regarded the surface dwellers with distaste and anger at their careless treatment of the seas and the life within. He instilled this resentment in his people, including his son Orm, who would take his place as King of Atlantas in 2018. When Orm became King, he began plotting to unite the various underwater Kingdoms with Atlantis, and command them as Ocean Master in a war against the surface and return Atlantis to its former power. Orm nearly succeeded in doing so, but was confronted by his older brother Arthur Curry, widely known as the Aquaman, and defeated. With Orm taken down and captured for his war crime, Arthur was made King of Atlantis and the state of war was dismissed. Atlantis returned to a peaceful existence, remaining hidden beneath the waves. Characteristics Physiology Atlanteans bear a close resemblance to humans, appearing almost exactly alike from the outside. They are, however, structured and built quite differently from humanity as a result of their centuries-long adaptation beneath the deep waters of the Earth's Ocean. *Strength: Atlanteans are significantly stronger than the average human. *Speed: While Atlanteans are only as fast as their strengthened legs can enhance their running or reflexes on land, Atlanteans are incredibly fast underwater, more so than a human will ever be. *Durability: One of their greatest traits is their physical toughness. Adapted to live in the incredible preassures beneath the Ocean, Atlantean flesh is very hard to break. *Enhanced Senses: Adapted to living in the dark depths of the Ocean, Atlanteans have much better eyesight than humans, able to see in near total darkness and through murky obstructions. Visual impairments such as smoke will still block their sight, but they can see much farther underwater than humans can. Water Adaptation *Underwater Breathing: Atlanteans exist comfortably underwater, and breathe normally as humans do air. *Limited Amphibiousness: Atlanteans have a limited ability to live on land. While they can breathe air and move about on dry land, they require regular bodily hydration to remain comfortable. *Swimming: Atlanteans are superior swimmers, the fastest swimming sentient life on Earth. They are able to propell themselves through the water at great speeds, outpacing most other life in the water. *Swim Bladder: An additional organ helps the storing and processing of nitrogen gas that forms as bubbles in the blood when making a rapid ascension through the water. This helps Atlanteans rise up in the water faster than what would be safe for humans. Mental Powers *Telepathy: Atlanteans possess general telepathy, as it is their primary method of communication underwater. While transmitting their thoughts, they typically mimic the lip movement used to produce the words in air, making it appear and feel as if they were using their voices underwater. The mental frequency experiences a slight wavey tone as it is carried through the water, giving their mental "voices" the sound of traveling through water. Weaknesses *Dehydration: While Atlanteans can move about on land and breathe air, they require regular submersion in water to keep themselves hydrated. Should an Atlantean be deprived of water for too long, they will begin asphyxiating before ultimately drying up and dying. The process can be accelerated with certain means of drying them out, making dehydration weapons or attacks especially dangerous to them.